Russian prosecutors canceled an arrest warrant filed against influential billionaire tycoon Boris Berezovskii last Wednesday after he promised to return to Russia and speak to investigators, Interfax reported.

The general prosecutor's office issued the warrant for Berezovskii's arrest two weeks ago on the suspicion that he had laundered hundreds of millions of dollars from Aeroflot, in which he has a stake.

The former member of the Kremlin inner circle was also charged with abuse of power and with taking part in other illegal business activities while in office at a number of government posts.

Russian Interior Minister Sergei Stepashin, a loyal deputy of President Boris Yeltsin, last week proclaimed that he would not arrest the controversial businessman if he returned from Paris, where he had been staying.

Berezovskii promised to return to Moscow by last weekend.

The Prosecutor General's office sent Berezovskii's arrest warrant to Interpol, the international police organization.

Deputy Prosecutor General Mikhail Katyshev said Wednesday that he canceled the warrant because Berezovskii promised to return home and testify. He said prosecutors' moves in the future would depend on Berezovskii's "behavior."

Berezovskii's lawyer, Genri Reznik, told prosecutors that they should not arrest Berezovskii if he refuses to testify or makes political statements they do not approve of, which he has the right to do.

Prosecutors had said they issued the warrant after Berezovskii ignored several subpoenas sent to him in recent months.

Berezovskii said Prime Minister Evgenii Primakov cooked up the money-laundering charges against him to influence Yeltsin, the Russian media, and the country's secret services. He has been on the losing side in an ongoing and rancorous war of words with Primakov and members of his government. The battle apparently led to Berezovskii's removal from his post as executive secretary of the CIS, the loose alliance of former Soviet republics.

Russian analysts also said that the warrant for Berezovskii's arrest, issued only days after he left Moscow, was an attempt to dissuade him from returning home and testifying against senior government officials who allegedly participated in his business deals.

On April 11, in an extensive interview on NTV's Sunday evening "Itogi" news analysis program, Berezovskii said he was the victim of a plot staged by the Russian political elite. He described himself as an innocent figure caught in a massive battle for power driven by the forces of communist and nationalist opposition.

He was particularly critical of Primakov , who has denied any role in the case. Berezovskii said Primakov was "softly speaking a bit of slyness" as part of a plot to restore the Soviet empire.

The mogul also repeated earlier demands to ban the Communist Party. He dismissed the possibility of a communist revival, but warned that Russian nationalism posed a much greater threat as it rooted in communist ideas.